Answer Man: Brown branches in Arden the work of cicadas? Where's the Memorial Wall?

Readers ask what happened to the Memorial Wall honoring those who died in World Wars I and II that used to be on display at Mission Hospital, and what is causing tree branches to die off in southern Buncombe County.
Wochit

A lot of trees in south Buncombe have branch ends that are turning brown, thanks to the recent infestation of 17-year cicadas.(Photo: Katie Wadington/kwadington@citizen-times.com)

Question: What is happening to the trees in south Buncombe? These I took pictures of are at Glen Arden Elementary. I’ve seen similar ones in Royal Pines and near Biltmore Park. The ends of the branches are all brown, and they look like the trees are dying. Are they?

My answer: I'm just going to start blaming everything on the cicadas. Seriously, it's a great excuse. "Why were you late to work today, Boyle?" Cicadas flew off with my car. Sorry. "Why is your story late, Boyle?" I was getting ready to hit "send," and the cicadas made me go drink beer with them.

Real answer: Cicadas.

Namely, the Brood VI 17-year cicadas that emerged in Western North Carolina this spring and immediately starting being disgusting, yet strangely fascinating. I've seen gobs of them on trees, the ground, my windshield, in people's hair.

Not great fliers, these critters. They're also destructive.

"What happens is the cicada emerges, they mate and the female cuts a slit in the stem of a branch," said Alison Arnold, an agent with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Buncombe County. "They prefer hardwoods like oaks, and they lay their eggs in there — up to 600 eggs per female. That can weaken the branch, causing it to brown out."

The cicadas began emerging in late April and early May, and they've been particularly heavy in southern Buncombe. Their odd, alien-sounding din was audible during the day for several weeks.

The branch tips do brown out and die, and the eggs will be in there for four-six weeks until they hatch. Then the nymphs will drop to the ground and burrow down, where they'll spend the next 17 years.

The brown tree tips likely will hang on through the winter, Arnold said, until new growth pushes them out next spring.

"It not harmful to the tree," she said. "It's sort of like pruning. It's just going to look awful the rest of the summer. There's really nothing to do about it, though."

The browned branches could be harmful to younger trees, Arnold said. So if you've got damage it's a good idea to prune off the dead parts.

Memorial Wall, once located at Mission Hospital, is now at the entrance to Memorial Stadium.(Photo: John Boyle/jboyle@citizen-times.com)

Question: Mission Hospital had a Memorial Wall for our soldiers who died in the World Wars. Due to all the expansions, it is no longer in view. Please find out if it still there, and if it is, can it still be seen? We understand this was why "Memorial" was in the hospital's name, Memorial Mission.

Mission Hospital was founded in 1865 by Anna Woodfin and a group of community members to provide charity care for residents of Asheville and surrounding communities. Kay noted they received "generous support, despite the fact that residents were still reeling from the aftermath of the Civil War."

"The Memorial Wall that you speak of consists of multiple granite panels engraved with the names of people who were lost to battle," Kay said. "It was originally installed in what was known as the Discharge Circle, or discharge area on the Memorial Campus. Due to the demolition of the Surgical Care building in preparation for the construction of the J Building, the Memorial Wall was removed a little over a decade ago."

So it was moved for a building project, but not the current construction project, the 12-story Mission Hospital for Advanced Medicine.

The Memorial Wall panels are on display at Memorial Stadium in Asheville, directly above McCormick Field, home of the Asheville Tourists.

I stopped by last week, and the Memorial does indeed greet visitors as you enter the stadium. It has become pretty faded, though, especially near the bottom, and the rear of the wall could use some patching.

On a side note, Kay said Mission does have a memorial display case on view at Mission Hospital, across from the information desk in the main lobby.

This is the opinion of John Boyle. Contact him at 232-5847 or jboyle@citizen-times.com